Demigod wars
by Elandil
Summary: While the 7 are abroad trying to defeat Gaia in the ancient lands, Camp half-blood is under attack from the Roman Legion. This is an account of how they get on (written from an OC's PoV)
1. I Meet the Teddy Bear Champion

I sat in the tree watching the cars approach, fingering the horn that hung at my side by a leather chord, but I wouldn't call for help, not yet.

More time passed and the cars parked at the bottom of the hill, spilling out a large group of kids who quickly formed ranks that gleamed gold in the sunlight. It was an amazing display of military engineering and control, Grey would love it, but he was down with his siblings, waiting for the alarm. A line of purple followed behind the gleaming wedge and my heart almost skipped a beat, if the barrier didn't do its job, we were all going to be killed, any amount of skill would be useless against these numbers.

As I watched, a figure separated itself from the main body of teenagers and waited for the girl on the Pegasus to join him, reading her movements, it wasn't something she was too thrilled about. For a while the two argued and I once again wondered whether now would be a good time to blow the signal, but I was also supposed to discern their numbers and that one thought held my hand in place. Never the less, I moved a little closer to the edge of the branch, wanting to get a better view.

Eventually, the first figure that I had seen as a single entity (a guess he was a boy though he looked like even Drew could snap him in half like a twig) stopped arguing and pulled something from his belt which ha waved at the other kids, making them cheer. I don't know what it was, at first it had looked like a stuffed animal, but that couldn't be right surely?

Again, more time passed as he did something that appeared to be a ritual, I could feel the magic in the air moving around excitedly. You could tell from this just how confident they were, if any of the Apollo guys had been up her in my stead, they would have been dead by now.

Finally, they began moving again, advancing up the hill, their movements yet another monument to their training. I sighed, it was show time. Careful not to make a sound, I dropped from the pine tree that supported the Golden Fleece, skirted round the dragon and sat cross legged on the crest of the hill, waiting and watching as they approached. Eventually they go too close and I let them see me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

They stopped, and most of them jumped when they saw me, but that isn't surprising. Most people under attack wouldn't let a 16 year old girl armed only with a bow sit and greet the invading army. They suspected a trick, and that was exactly why I was here.

The boy from before strode forward and I had to stop myself from laughing, working hard to keep my neutral, almost bored look. It looked like he really did have stuffed animals attached to his belt which made no sense, why would anyone march into battle with a cuddly toy? He snapped me out of my thoughts when he spoke.

"And why should we listen to you _girl _you _Greacus_ attacked our home, declaring war, you should have been expecting this!"

Man this guys voice was unpleasant, he sounded like one of those whiney little kids that ran for their parents' help the second something happened that they did not like. I just looked at him and shrugged.

"Well, it really is up to you whether or not you listen to me in the end, but I don't think your soldiers will thank you if you make them advance."

I worked to keep my voice neutral so as not to alert him to the fact that I seriously wanted to punch him in the face, but as I spoke, I lay my hands on the ground. The movement was not threatening in any way, purely to make things easier for me, but he looked at me as if I had just thrown down the gauntlet.

"You must be a child of Ceres, that is why they put you here is it not? But do not be fooled, agriculture cannot harm us."

At this, I couldn't help but grin, thinking about what the Demeter cabin would say to that if they heard, but again, I just said the first thing that came into my head… other than the truth that is.

"Actually, as you are on Greek soil, and our gods came first, you should actually call her the Lady Demeter. She gets pretty annoyed if people get her name wrong, she once turned my boyfriend into a potato."

Okay, that last bit was random, true, but random. Still, it made the guys face turn beet red and a vein started pulsing near his temple… how cute, he thought I was playing with him.

"Legion, advance!"

They all started moving again, though I could tell that some of them were uneasy when I didn't move, simply sitting there with a hand over my mouth to keep in my laughter, a few more paces however, and they soon got the joke.

As they tried to cross the border of camp, a bright purple wall sprang up, electrifying the entire front row and sending them stumbling backwards into the soldiers behind them. I didn't even try to hold it in anymore, I just cracked up.

"A trick!" His voice was a little shaken and his helmet tilted to the side slightly but it seemed like he was as pompous as ever.

"Well, I did try to warn you about the barrier, you were the one who told them to advance."

He glared at me with a look that spoke words and started me laughing again, oh yes, he wanted to kill me, but a death glare really isn't very effective when you have a glittery pink unicorn strapped to your armour.

"Who are you?"

I stood, batting the dirt off of my legs and stretched, using the motion to unhook the horn from my belt and hold it just behind my back.

"Who's asking?"

"I asked you first!"

Oh my gods, the petulance in that last line almost made me fall over as I gripped my sides, this guy was a freaking riot.

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself before you start asking any questions?"

His glare didn't fade but his lips twitched as he tried a new tactic.

"Fine, I am Octavian, legacy of Apollo, Augur and temporary Preator of the 12th Legion of new Rome!"

Was he trying to impress me? Scare me? I didn't even know what half of those words meant! Still, I did pick up on one word that might be fun to play with.

"Temporary? So that means you're not a real one then? You're just filling in until they find someone who can actually do the job properly?"

When some of the kids behind him started laughing at this, I knew that I had hit a sore spot, however, he impressed me. Instead of losing it and yelling, he just adopted a cruel I'm-so-going-to kill –you-the-moment-I- reach-you smile and carried on with the charade of politeness.

"Now can I ask what your name is then Ms…?

I rolled my eyes. If he wasn't going to be very interesting anymore, I might as well get my job done with and leave the rest for the Ares lot, they actually enjoyed these things.

"Oh, yes," I said with a mock bow, "My name is Loki Williams, daughter of Hecate, guardian of the boundary!"

At the last bit, his eyes narrowed still further, it was a sheer wonder that he could still see out of them.

"So you are the one we need to defeat if we wish to cross the line?"

"Well… you could just say please… and leave your weapons here. We have a game of capture the flag tonight if you wanna play and Chiron says that we can have smores later?"

I could tell that the offer caught him off guard because he spluttered a little as he talked, it was getting rather funny, but I really had to go now.

"Why would we lay down our weapons and consort with… _you?" _

I tried to look hurt at the last part, but I'm pretty sure my smile didn't go anywhere.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed you know, no need to insult people, but, if you really don't want to play, then I guess I better go."

With that last line, I started running down towards the big house blowing my horn as I went. Just as I got to the bottom, I remembered something I forgot to warn them about, but, just as I turned to go back up, the hill exploded.


	2. My sister takes me for a moonlite stroll

The explosion was great, very artistic even if I do say so myself. It was bright purple with dancing gold and silver sparks that kept shifting from butterflies to wolves and a whole range of other animals, covering a large space of the hill. Our entire cabin had spent almost a week on that spell, though finally getting to see it in action made it feel like all of the energy that went into setting it up was all worth while, after all, we were kinda putting on a show! The magic wouldn't kill them of course, Chiron would never have allowed us to actually use it if it did, but the Hypnos kids had given us a lot of help with it (whenever we actually managed to keep them awake for longer than 5 minutes at a time) so it would slow them down.

As I ran through the woods, I couldn't help laughing at the thought of all the sleeping Romans that would now be littering the hillside, but, if I were to bet on any outcome, I would say that this would only make them angrier, and more determined. What ever, they would have to get past the barrier around camp first and thanks to the few adjustments we had worked on it, they would have to find another way to get through other than using brute force. Even as I laughed however, I did feel more than a little guilty. Even if I didn't actually get hurt, I'd specifically been told to just blow the horn and get out of there once I got a good estimation of their numbers. I wondered idly if they had noticed me ragging that Octavian guy…

The further I ran into the thick pillars of the tree trunks, the darker it got, we didn't risk lighting the way to the different bunkers just in case the invaders actually did get in, but cabin 9 had made these amazing trail markers that were hard to miss if you knew about them and impossible to spot if you didn't. Before long I had made it back to the pile of rocks that served to hide bunker 12, finding it however, was not the hard part.

When he had first received the message that our camp was going to be attacked, Chiron had announced (with a pained expression) that we were going to have to reopen some relics from the last civil war and, my gods, these bunkers were cool! Though, of course, bunker 12 was the most unique.

Apparently, about 2 years ago, there were only 12 cabins at camp, one for the 12 Olympian gods so, unlike now, when each god/goddess had their own cabin, everyone who wasn't claimed or whose parent didn't have their own place was put into Cabin 12, Hermes' place. Because of this; 1. It was the biggest bunker and 2. It was tricked out with more traps then the miniature golf course in Apollo's back garden (don't ask). There must have been kids from all kinds of places in here as, apart from the standard Hermes pranks, there was sleep magic, normal magic and an Isis style communications link to all of the others. I guess that last one is why it became the command centre.

After finally gaining access to the hidden room (thank you Travis Stoll for all of your _helpful _new booby traps) I only got to flash a grin at two familiar faces before I was greeted by a load of shouting. Yep, they noticed.

I sighed and stepped close enough into the cavern so that the doors sealed properly behind me, whishing that I knew how to turn myself invisible, but I don't think that that would have helped too much, Lou-Ellen was there and she was a much better sorceress than me. I tried my best to look contrite as Chiron scolded me for taking unnecessary risks, but it was kinda hard when I had all the Hermes lot giving me sly thumbs ups from behind his back. I'm just glad that I managed to stop myself from grinning like an idiot, then I really would have had lecture and no mistake.

Eventually what saved me was the Oracle, some girl named Rachel who even I found sarcastic. Normally she lived in a cave at the edge of camp (weird choice I know) but the head counsellors had all but forced her to move into the safety of one of the bunkers, especially Will, he said his dad would kill him if he let the Oracle die again. Anyway, after a while of me getting the lecture of how I shouldn't get cocky since I had only had about a year of training, she stepped forward with that half smile of hers and pulled Chiron away to look at something on one of the screens. I shot her a grateful look as he turned away and got a wink in response.

Sighing, I took a step back into the shadows that covered the outer circumference of the room and almost tripped over something on the floor.

"Oww!"

"Ah, sorry… Oh, wait, never mind."

The girl I'd stood on was Stephanie Palmer, a small girl with the sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes that were stereotypical of the Apollo kids at camp, but with an expression that left you thinking that she wasn't completely sane. Sitting in the dark, cradling two sword is her lap and with the light throwing the small scar at the corner of her mouth into relief, that image was greatly enforced, but then, in her case, you really can judge a book bye its cover. Steph was mad as a hatter; she was also my best friend.

Quietly as I could, I folded myself down beside her and we exchanged weapons and she started complaining about how I scuffed the leather tube that held her bow. I just shrugged, those things were awful, I could never shoot straight. Much better, in my opinion, to have something that let you get up close and personal with your opponent. Oh gods, I'm beginning to sound like Clarisse!

For a while, we just sat there in silence, not really knowing what to do with ourselves. There were a group of us in the large cavern other than just the Hermes cabin, made up almost exclusively of the head counsellors, but there were others in there too. We were the message runners, and the medics… In that order. The last time I had tried healing someone… well, lets not go into that now. After a while, Grey slunk over to where we were sitting and flopped to the floor beside us, looking as though he was nursing a splitting headache, but then, that has to be the price of brains. He was a son of Athena, though most of us just call him potato boy after the incident that happened last year when he first came to camp, and he and his siblings had been locked away in counsel for the last few days so we were actually quite surprised to see him here at all, but the look on his face stopped us from commenting.

In the end though, we didn't quite get away with resting in the corner for too long, eventually someone spotted us. Although, as I say, we did have a pretty good messaging system set up, it hadn't been used in the last 3/400 years so the signal was a little faulty, meaning that us runners were getting a lot more leg work than normal. Mostly, it was just passing on messages, delivering or picking up supplies, general stuff like that, but there was a lot going on and soon we were the last ones left and Lou-Ellen came up to us.

"Loki?"

"Yeah?"

"We need someone to go and check the barrier by the pine tree again, it looks as tough there was a chink in the armour that we missed before and we're going to have to put it right before the Jupiter lot can exploit it."

"Let me guess, your sending me again aren't you?"

"Well, yes and no… I'm going to check the magic, but we need someone to distract them while I see to it, just in case I have to take the whole thing down for a second. Seeing as though you seemed to like playing the fool last time…"

Damn it! It's a good mile from here to the border line, but I can't really refuse so I sigh and get to my feet, brushing my jeans down and straightening the second before my sister grabs my hand and drags me out of the door.

As we run through the darkness, the enough moonlight filters down that I just manage to see the guilty look flash across her face.

"Sorry about forcing you to do this, but I don't really trust myself alone to fix this thing so I might need help, even if you are just being a distraction. You don't mind do you?"

I sigh again, how can I possibly say no to my big sister who could quite possibly turn me into a rabbit and pull me out of her hat if I pissed her off? Trying to make her feel a little better, I flash her a grin through the gloom.

"Don't worry, I'm a trained professional!"


	3. I become a mad woman

Once we actually managed to reach the boundary line again, we were greeted by a pair of soft squishy armchairs and a nice cup of tea while that Octavian guy sat around and had a teddy bear's picnic... well, no, that's a lie, but I can dream right? Instead of having a nice long sit down that would really help my aching feet, I had to go and stand in front of a legion, again. Only this time, they were all kind of angry at me.

Waiting for Ellen to cast the spell, I couldn't help but glance at all the shiny swords that glittered in the sunlight. All of them were really pretty, really long and really dangerous, and soon, they would all be pointed at me. Barrier or no barrier, (and I got the suspicion that it would be no barrier for quite some time, I was not looking forward to the next meeting, at least before I had had the elements of surprise and shock on my side. Now I had nothing but the twin swords crossed across my back and that bareness was not a welcome feeling.

Once my sister had shimmered into the surroundings, I edged out from round the large pine tree taking a deep breath as I moved into the line of fire. The reaction was immediate.

"YOU!"

I looked at him faking being stunned by his reaction when all I really wanted to do was leg it back to the bunker and go right back to hiding in the shadows, but the spotlight was all mine now, though I wasn't too sure that this was entirely a good thing. Getting into character, I let a hurt look flash across my face before replacing it with a cocky grin that came all to easily to me.

"Yes it's me, who were you expecting, Charon the ferryman?"

Thankfully I managed to keep the fear from my voice and, once I saw the outraged look on Octavian's face, it soon got easier. After all, who doesn't enjoy winding up high strung social climbers?

"You're the one who did this aren't you?" He gestured at where there were still a good couple dozen warriors on the floor, snoring quietly into the grass and, I couldn't help it, I laughed a bit. "You will pay for this!"

Okay, I saw Ellen over behind the pine now, meaning that she was channeling more of her energy and concentration into the barrier than keeping herself invisible. If any of the Romans turned around, they would notice her, but hey, why else was I here?

"You do realize that I have a name right, I'm pretty sure that I already told you that much, though if you don't remember, that's okay too. Once again, you can call me Loki."

I said the last part slowly, like I was talking to a kid with a learning disability, or a sleepy kid of Hypnos'. The intention was to make him angry and, well, it worked better than I had intended it to. Mores the pity, even though his reaction was incredibly amusing.

First of all, the guy went bright red in the face and I thought that he was having a seizure, but then, for some reason, he totally calmed out and when he replied it was with a sickeningly polite tone that suggested that he had been in this kind of situation many times before, what's more, he was used to it.

"Don't think I don't know what you're playing at here, I've already figured you out!"

For a moment I had to work to keep the shock and fear out of my voice, thinking that he had somehow figured out that I was here as a distraction and that, at any moment, they would attack, but then he kept on talking, completely oblivious to my mini heart attack.

"I know you want us to charge again, no doubt you have some kind of trick that will get us again, it is the only reason why you would feel safe enough to stand before us unarmed!"

Okay, this kid had a _huge_ ego but, thankfully, I had experience with these kinds of people so I actually felt more at ease ridiculing him. Hmm, more tricks? We hadn't had time to install any more defense mechanisms, but I guess that he didn't know that, which was something that I could use to my advantage once again. Sighing slightly, I raised my hands in defeat.

"Oh, alright, you got me, I was trying to make you cross into the pit trap area, but it looks like you were too smart for me. Anyway, I kind of felt bad about forgetting the whole explosion thing earlier, been up here overseeing everything, but I guess it's easy for everything to get tangled up in your head."

I had my best 'sincere' face on as I said this and I guess I was kind of convincing as the first row of soldiers looked around uneasily and quickly took a step back. My mind was working overtime on this idea when the guy stepped forwards again.

"Why are you telling us all of this?"

I pretended to think about that for a few seconds, "Maybe 'cause I'm a nice person?"

"Your _Greek_!" He spat the last word like it justified all of the animosity towards us and also that it meant plenty of reasons why he shouldn't trust me. Smart kid.

I gave him a deliberately slow round of applause and I think I heard a girl laugh somewhere behind him, looks like he wasn't too popular even with his own people. Anyway, I gave him another push, mindful of the thrum of magic that I could feel coursing from my big sister, praying all the while that no one in the crowed actually knew the main difference between Hecate and Trivia.

"Am I? I was under the impression that I was British actually… So that must be why I don't recognize any of these gods, guess I went to the wrong place. You guys know where I can find Camp Odin in this country?"

This time I was s_ure _that people were laughing in the Roman ranks, which hopefully meant that they would be less likely to charge me down in the near future. Octavian, however, did not seem to appreciate my witty banter and he barked an order for silence.

"Stop fooling around here g_irl _you can't win, we have you massively outnumbered even if all of you do fight to the last man."

I sighed dramatically hoping that it sounded patronizing enough.

"Is that so? Ah oh well, guess I'll tell Nico to let his skeleton army go back to the underworld now, if we are so greatly outmatched!"

I threw out the name without thinking, the name of the only child of Hades that I had actually heard of. I didn't think that that line would have too much of an effect, but, obviously, I was wrong. Whispers broke out among the gathered teens.

"Nico?"

"Hazel's brother?"

"He's Greek?"

"SILENCE!"

Octavian got his wish, but you could tell that they didn't want to follow his orders. The silence was restless and I could tell that I had just stirred them up, a matter that I wouldn't have minded that much except for the fact that I had just felt a small flux in the air that meant the barrier had just been taken down. Great timing sis! Honest to Zeus, sometimes I think she has it in for me.

Trying to sound much braver than I felt, I took another steadying breath, closing my eyes for a moment, desperately trying not to imagine whether or not it would hurt _terribly _if I got impales by one of those sparkly swords. Still I managed to force out.

"Wow, that guy really c_an _go anywhere with his shadow travel, though when he first said that, the Aphrodite girls beat him silly with their hairbrushes."

Again this seemed to confuse the pompous brat in front of me, but I guess he finally worked out that it was a joke and that he wasn't supposed to find it funny because he pulled a sour face and I felt the sudden need to pray to my mother that I hadn't overstepped his patience this time.

"Are you _mocking _us?"

My mouth fell open in mock surprise.

"Wow, so you do have a brain in that irritating little mouth of yours." _Shut up, shut up! _Stupid mouth, you're gonna get me killed.

So what, its fun?

I am ending this conversation right here!

No, I'm carrying it on!

"SHUT THE HADES UP!"

This last comment actually came out of my mouth getting me some strange looks. Needless to say, I went bright red, but, thank Hera (No wait, scratch that, thank _Apollo_) I felt the ripple and got the thumbs up from Ellen. I took that as my cue to leave.

"So, yeah, lovely little chat here, but I think the dinner shell is gonna go soon so, See yah!"

With that, I began running down the hill away from the really confused Roman legion, mentally slapping myself, and my mouth, for all of my stupid, death wish comments. When I finally reached the porch of the big house, my sister was smiling.

"Seems like you had fun."

"Shut it!" And with that, we happily ran back into the fairy tale woods so full of monsters and nymphs that wanted to gut us. Oh such a wonderful night I was having!


	4. We get some uninvited guests

**A/N: Hey everyone, I just realized (with the help of some awesome reviewers) that the Hermes cabin is cabin 11 not 12, so, from now on, I will refer to it as bunker 11, sorry for the confusion- Elandil**

* * *

This time, as I ran through the dark corridors of the woods, avoiding all the pitfalls by jumping through the branches (something that is _extremely _entertaining… and painful at first) I wasn't alone, unfortunately. Even as I tried to make no sound as I ran through the seething shadows, my sister made no effort. Instead, Ellen laughed her head off like she didn't care if we got hit by an arrow, or something even more deadly.

"You were having a conversation with your mouth?"

"Technically, it was my brain talking to my mouth, but yes, yes I was."

"And then you just blurted that out? The looks on their faces were absolutely priceless, good job weird lil' sis!"

I sighed and forced myself to run faster, trying to pull away from the mocking tone in her voice and attempting to hide my blushing face in the cover of the trees, both of which I failed at. Why do my siblings have to be so much better at everything than me?

When we finally made it back to bunker 11 Ellen was breathless from laughing at me, but then, I guess that that is the only thing that I am good at, making people laugh.

I paused at the door trying to gather my courage before actually going in to put up with all the sarcastic comments that were bound to come my way. I bet the whole bunker had seen my last scene with the Romans and they would be pressing for answers. I wouldn't tell them, but my idiotic sister would. Why had I even told her in the first place? Sure, she can detach parts of the human anatomy and hold them for ransom as easily as she breaths (can and will) but surely she would have given me my ear or what ever back before too long right?

Sighing slightly, I pushed the door open and resigned myself to being the laughing stock of my peers, but the sight that met us was beyond all of my expectations. Instead of a round of laughter greeting our entrance, the room was silent apart for a few hushed whispered and people running around in blind panic. It didn't take long for us to fin the source of the problem.

As we stepped further into the room, we found a small group of people, including the Stolls, Chiron and Clovis (why was he here? And awake?) gathered around someone who was laying on the floor screaming. I took me a second to recognise that it was Rachel.

Without thinking, we both ran up to where our Oracle was thrashing on the floor in what looked like the grips of a terrible nightmare. Now the presence of the son of Hypnos began to make sense. Rachel was not just our Oracle, unlike the ones in the past, she did more than just sprout prophesies when asked. From what I've heard, she has been known to channel the voices of the gods and, recently, she has begun having some rather violent dreams that even put her own life at risk. Once, we only jus managed to wake her up and her neck was covered in bruises like had marks. She said she had dreamt that she was being choked.

The tension in the room was so thick that I didn't know what to do, I was only just getting used to this cam when we received the message saying that we were about o be attacked, so I was used to being in situations where I didn't have a clue what was going on, but I really hated not knowing what to do even in these kind of times.

My ADHD getting the better of me, I could no longer stay like a statue where the head councillor for Hypnos cabin clutched our friend's hand tightly and tried to wake her up, I drifted back towards the shadows where I belonged.

Suddenly feeling completely drained after my several mile run and two confrontations with a legion, I all but fell onto the floor next to Stephanie who just smirked at me.

"Hello my schizophrenic little friend!"

I growled at her, now was not the time or the place and, to be honest, I was simply to tired to put up with it at this moment in time. "_Not _now Steph, I'm _not _in the mood."

I could tell that she knew I was tired, but the hurt look on her face made me sigh and carry on in a softer tone, damn Apollo kids able to charm their way out of anything!

"Where's Grey…"

"Dragged off my one of his sisters I expect, he was gone by the time I got back from checking the stock of Arrows by the lake."

I nodded and we shared a look before bursting out laughing. Even if we think that we have it bad, at least our siblings don't expect much from us, we ensured that on the first day. Nothing better to stop disappointing people than to act like an idiot from the start! But it seemed like our other friend didn't get the memo, instead, the whiz kid had to show off just how intelligent he was on the first day, now the kid barely got a break, especially with things being the way they are now.

I sighed and leaned back against the cold stone, not really wanting to talk anymore and getting the impression that Steph didn't feel much like it either. The whole room was tense and it looked like, if you snapped a pencil lead, all of the head councillors would jump out of their skin. This kind of atmosphere was not exactly encouraging conversation. In fact, the whole room was so quiet that I fell asleep.

I awoke to the sound of rapid movement, but, by the sound they were making, it was obvious that Rachel was awake, and that her vision had been anything but good. Not that I had expected anything different from all the screaming, but still… a girl could hope right? Well, not if you're a demigod, its like an unwritten rule I guess.

With the kind of morbid curiosity that I normally only have for looking at a camper that has just got out of a sparring match with the Ares cabin, I found myself edging closer and closer to the spot where the red head sat, wrapped in a blanket and shaking violently. Being the only healer on hand, other than the old centaur, Steph crouched by her side speaking to her soothingly.

As I got closer, I could begin to make sense of the shouted questions that came from the close circle around her, though it didn't take much to actually know what they meant. Everyone was pretty much asking the same question: What had she seen in her dream?

Quiet as a shade, I slipped into the background and joined the group of onlookers just as Rachel was about to begin explaining, but, just as she opened her mouth, there was a large bang as the door swung open, hitting against the wall. All eyes turned to stare at the new arrival, one of the Nike kids, I think her name was Chloe, who had a large cut running down one arm as she slumped to the floor. Quick as a wink, her siblings were on her.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened?"

"Where's the medic?"

"You Okay?"

They were the only ones that I could actually make out, but, when the young girl spoke, she looked directly at Chiron, the fear in her voice masking her pain.

"We need to raise the shields some more, let the army in too; this is just _way _too much for them!"

Everyone was silent at her words, I mean, she just told us to let in the people who wanted to kill us, but no one dared contradict her, something in her voice said that there was something worse than what she had said going on. Finally, Chiron stepped forwards and asked the question that everyone wanted answering.

"What do you mean child?"

Yet more silence, yet, when the answer came, falling from the mouth of our Oracle, each word felt like a death knell.

"She mean's : We've got company!"


	5. We Hear a Horror Story

I know that it is not really my place to say anything in this kind of situation, but I blame the ADHD. Anyway, it isn't like I said anything that everyone else wasn't already thinking, but they all seemed too shocked or lost in thought to say the words. Finally I spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen around us.

"Who's coming Rachel? What's worse than a Roman Legion baying for our blood?"

Again, all eyes fell on me but this time, I wasn't interested in shrugging out of the lime light, this was something that had to be asked, and also answered. I wouldn't feel guilty about saying such things. Anyway, it felt like it wasn't exactly me speaking, like someone else was urging me on, willing me to find out what was happening.

Again, the answer to the question came from an unexpected source. As many of us had guessed that Chloe had passed out upon entering the room, none of us were looking at her until she spoke up.

"An army, not just a legion, an army. Led by a giant!"

We all just stared at her with a look that said we were worrying for her mental health (and trust me, I know that look, having been on the receiving end of it way too often for my liking.) Once again, silence claimed the room and the tension began to build between us. Finally Chiron rode towards her and took a deep look into her eyes before speaking in a mournful voice, resigned to the fact that the Romans were no longer our biggest problem, and, let me tell you, that is a terrifying though!

"What exactly did you see Chloe, tell us everything you can!"

Chloe didn't look like she wanted to tell us everything, in fact, it looked more like she wanted to cry (or possibly pass out, one of those two) but, she still took a deep breath and allowed one of her brother's to put her on her feet before she spoke in a choked voice.

"Chiron, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, It's all my fault!"

She broke of there as she did indeed begin crying, but no one was going to let her stop there and, after receiving a few encouraging words from everyone in attendance, She carried on, albeit through her sobs and from behind her fingers as though she was expecting a rebuff. Seriously, this girl needed to grow a back bone.

"You said to wait until the Romans passed the 10 mile border then to just keep a look out on the immediate area in case anything else came along, but I got complacent! After telling you that they had gone past, I-I fell asleep."

She was cut off by another round of sobs and I couldn't help getting a little annoyed, in the last few minutes, all we had learned that she had been on the 10 mile boundary around the camp and that she had fallen asleep in her tree, but, I guess the girl has just run back the distance (and even if she was a child of Nike, that must have taken at least half an hour, of none stop sprinting at that) and she had supposedly survived an army so I guess that she had an excuse after all.

"I don't know how long I fell asleep, but I woke up when some hell hounds came sniffing at the base of the tree I was in and the nymphs started screaming. They startled me and I fell off of the branch in front of the monsters, that's how I got this."

She pointed to the wound on her arm that, upon closer inspection, looked suspiciously like a fang wound.

"I got scared so I bolted. They were surprised and they didn't know who I was so I got away from them pretty quickly, but when I looked back, I saw the rest of the army reach them."

At this, the room was filled with discontent mutterings, why do we have to have another army attack now while there is already an army on our doorstep? Chiron however, was more interested in comforting the sobbing camper than the threat of the invasion right now. Man, that guy really needs to get his priorities in order, and that's coming from the girl who has arguments with her mouth (and loses them to boot). Any way, he went over to her immediately and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Now listen here, what you did was normal, you don't need to worry! Why do you say that it is your fault that they are coming this way?"

"I can answer that!"

We all jumped at this, none of us expecting the son of Nike to step out of the shadows that surrounded us. I guess we are all idiots however, as it was common knowledge that the sentries had to go out in pairs. Still, it was amazingly irritating how those kids can just pop out of no where. Anyway, this guy, (Drake?) came forward and finished off the story.

"I noticed a bit after she had gone, but the army started tracking her scent. Apparently they had been going to meet up with some others in Chicago, but they thought that a quick demigod hunt would be more fun. They're coming straight for us!"

We all stared at him in horror, flinching at the phrase _demigod hunt._ This lasted for about the whole of 20 seconds before the storm broke and everyone started yelling again, way more voices than there should have been, but I guess that only mean that the Isis communications system was back up.

Finally, it was Clarisse (daughter of Ares and one of the senior fighters in camp) who returned order to the gathering. Speaking from her bunker hidden somewhere near the lake, she asked one question that everyone wanted answered, but no one wanted to say out loud, her softly spoken words echoing through the cacophony of noises as easily discernable as the death threat they carried:

"How many?"

The room fell silent as a tomb again and everyone turned back to the 3 teens in the middle of the bunker who looked at each other uneasily. Eventually, Rachel spoke, her voice hollow and her words as heavy as blows.

"Too many, more than I can count. Not just that, they're not alone! With them marches Leon, the giant who Hercules killed in the last war. We can't win this without the help of a god!"

The last bit was enough to make us all understand. To defeat a giant, you needed a god and a mortal (or demigod) to work together, and, so long as we were at war with each other, the gods would be split between their Roman and Greek forms. Hardly any of them would be able to help us.

I sighed and slammed my head into my hands. Of all the stupid things I had done in my life, this was probably the one with the worst consequences, with all the time I had spent ragging the Legion they were never going to willing accept that we wanted a truce. Why did I have to be so good with at my job about annoying people?

I sighed and slid back to my corner with Steph as the councillors argued over what should be done, but I knew what was gong to happen, it felt like I knew this was going to come all along. I couldn't help but sigh again, drawing my friend's attention back to me.

"Something wrong?"

"Other than the fact we have just been handed our death warrant?"

"Yeah, I men, other than that."

I just shrugged. Even if she was the daughter of Apollo, she wouldn't believe some of the dreams I had been having lately, and the guy's voice that I kept hearing in my sleep. I'm pretty sure that Mortals see people having voices in their heads as a sign of a person being mental and, well, even though I don't know what it means for demigods, I'm also quite sure it is a lot worse. That's the reason why, when I looked into my friend's concerned blue eyes, I did what I do best. I lied.

"Nothing!"


	6. I stare directly at the sun

I guess I must have dozed off at some point because I remember waking up in a cold sweat, but nothing else. It felt like I had just been in the grips of a nightmare, my heart going a mile a minute and my battle reflexes going completely mental, making me feel twitchy as anything, but I couldn't remember the dream for the life of me. It was one of those times that, the more you try to think about it, the less you remember, though, for some reason, I had a strong, lingering smell of blood clogging up my nose that had no place in my current location, almost like I had been covered in it. Shuddering and desperate for a distraction, I turned to poke Steph's shoulder, drawing her attention away from sharpening her arrows.

"What did I miss?"

I knew that I must have slept through something big, the bunker was a lot quieter, and I couldn't see any of the head councillors anywhere. I shivered slightly at the cold wind that seemed to be drifting around the room, but for some reason, it looked like I was the only one who was actually bothered by it.

"Not much, all of the bosses turned up and headed back to the main house to have their council in private. I think its pretty much been decided that we need to let the Romans in, but they are discussing the technicalities of it right now."

At her words, I felt myself let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding. If the situation could be accepted as easily by the Romans, then this would improve our outlook of the future greatly, but I know for a fact that Octavian guy hates me. Oh, he might not show it straight away, especially if he has to listen to orders, but I had dealt with his type before. He will get even, they always do.

More time passed and my friend went back to polishing her weapons, seemingly oblivious to my mini heart attack (either that or she just didn't care which I'm willing to bet is the real reason.) I found myself curling back into a ball as the cool air greedily absorbed all of my body heat, the whole scene felt so relaxing, like the calm before the storm. Unfortunately, this is a stage that never lasts. A few minutes more and the bunker doors were swung open with a loud bang which made everyone jump, and Clarisse stormed in.

"Williams, get here now!"

Now, normally, I don't appreciate people calling me by my surname, or treating me like a dog, but you try ignoring a pissed off Ares kid and you'll soon find out why I didn't want to push my luck too far today, not after surviving the Legion twice. Reluctantly, I took a step out of the friendly shadows and right into the line of fire.

"Yes?"

We were both quiet as we stood there, her sizing me up, me trying not to do anything that might get me killed, but, unfortunately, I must have already done that because, before I could really think about what was happening, the girl in front of me stalked over and I felt a sharp pain emanate from the back of my head, near the base of my skull, and the world went black again.

"_You don't have to do this, at least get one of your sisters to help, for me, please?"_

_The voice was so pleading and full of pain that I felt my heart twist, but I found myself laughing without humour and words came, unbidden, from my lips._

"_I truly am sorry, my pretty little thing, but this must be done!"_

"_Then, let me come with you, then I wont worry as much!"_

_It sounded like tears had now begun to flow though I still couldn't see anything, almost like I was watching in a dream state, my body acting on its own and my mouth speaking in my voice but not my words._

"_Again, you know that this is not an option for t'would be to obvious if you disappeared! No, you must let me do this, I am not a child."_

_I heard a sigh and now my companion seemed more resigned than anything, though there was still a small part of pleading in the words._

"_Let me remember then! I don't want to forget, please don't make me forget!"_

_I felt myself laugh again and I rolled over to face the person, but even as I did this and their figure began to take shape in my vision, everything started to fade again. The last strain of the dream was the voice that was mine, yet not mine, speaking once again._

"_Such a small thing, and t'will cause you pain a plenty… but no, if you wish it, this much I can do. You shall remember my love, do not forget me, and do not regret this for I shall not!"_

"Clarisse, I'm pretty sure that I told you to bring her here not knock her out and drag her lifeless body through the woods!"

The sound of my sister's shouts brought me back to some semblance of consciousness where I lay for a moment and tried to analyse this new kind of dream I had just been introduced to, but, before long, the sickening pain in my brain became far too much for rational thought so I just listened to the argument while my body remained strangely paralysed.

"Well, it is her fault that hit her, she shouldn't have made things so difficult for us, annoying the Romans like that!"

Now that I could hear them properly, the voices sounded a little muffled, like I was hearing them through a door or a wall, something like that. I was also aware of someone sat beside me, running their fingers through my hair.

"Yes, I wouldn't have minded if you had only _hit _her you moron, but you didn't, you _broke _her _spine_!"

"Well it isn't my fault that she's a wimp!"

"You say one more word La Rue and I swear …"

I stopped paying attention to Ellen at that moment because a sickening wave of heat went through me, concentrating on my back, but also spreading out to my limbs, burning like I had just been covered with cattle brands. I wanted to scream, but a hand came down over my mouth and I heard a new voice right next to my ear.

"Its fine, don't worry. This is part of the healing process!"

I didn't recognise the guy, not even when my eyes flew open and I was able to take in every sun kissed inch of him, but his voice was sweet and melodic, lulling me back into a kind of trance as the pain began to fade again.

A few more minutes passed and I was able to breathe properly again, pushing myself up just as the boy beside me called out to the others that I had woken up. In a blur of movement, Ellen was in the room and gripping my hand …_hard!_

"Loki? Are you okay?"

"Um… yeah? I guess so."

I tried not to look to confused as she shot a look at the guy who had moved to the door way, giving us room. I couldn't, however, understand the thankful , yet fearful, tone to her countenance, that was, of course, until she addressed him, unshed tears staining her voice even as she smiled.

"Thank you Lord Apollo, thank you so much!"

Wow, a god had come and personally healed me, but why was he even in camp? And why was he not switching forms like all the others were? No, more importantly, lets go back, WHY WAS HE HERE? I didn't however, actually say that as, even though you may not believe it with the way I acted with the Octavian guy earlier, I do not enjoy asking for death, but the questioning look in my face must have been obvious as anything because the god just grinned at me.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I would do anything for my little sweet heart!"

He said the last part with a wink, and I was left in the room with 2 girls that were giving me some _very _strange looks. Now, normally, I know that most girls would be over the moon (sun?) in this kind of situation, but in all honestly? My only train of though went a little more like this:

What. The. HELL?


	7. I get a new job

You would have thought that, after getting your neck broken by a certain daughter of Ares, being treated by the sun god and then getting completely confused by the afore mentioned healer, that a girl would get a break, but no. Not here any way.

The second that they found out that I could walk semi-steadily, they had me out of the sick bay and into the councillor meeting, where I had to face down around 20 assorted teenagers that were certain that I had signed their death warrants. Was I the only one who actually remembered that I had only acted on orders? It looked like it.

"What the Hades gave you the idea that antagonising the army was a good idea? Surely you should have planned out the consequences of your actions before you spoke?"

"Why not just shoot at them, I can't imagine a worse situation to be in!"

"I don't see how it matters, why don't we al just go and destroy them _before _going to face the army. That way, we win, and we don't have to fight a war on both fronts. Problem solved!"

Finally, all eyes left me and there was the distinct sound of scraping chairs as everyone tried to move away from Clarisse. Yes, we all acknowledged that she was probably the best fighter (and commander) in the entire camp now that Percy and Annabeth were gone (not that we would ever tell her this) but even she couldn't be mad enough to attempt this kind of plan!

Under our scathing however, she managed to stay calm and shrug with an unconcerned expression on her face that morphed a little into a smirk as she spoke.

"What, I thought we were all stating things that were a waste of time and completely useless to our situation!"

Well, that shut everyone up and, thankfully, they returned to the matter at hand instead of berating me for actions that couldn't be changed now. Chiron sighed and called the shocked teens back to order.

"Anyway, we did not call Loki here for punishment, we are here to discuss what needs to be done, and it was agreed that she will be important for what is to came as she has been thrust into the role of our spokes person!"

As he said this, he shot me a look that was filled with pity, and something else… pleading? No, that was impossible, what would someone as old, knowledgeable and powerful as Chiron ever have to beg me for? Unless it was to keep my mouth shut, but all he had to do to accomplish that is to tell me to shut up.

Even though this was my first time in one of these meetings and I should have been incredibly interested in what was happening all around me, I kept looking at Clovis, the son of Hypnos. No, before you start thinking anything like I know you are no doubt considering, it isn't anything like that, I don't have any feelings for the sleepy boy other than the those of a friend, but he kept staring at me, so I stared back, amazed at how long he seemed to be able to keep himself conscious when he wanted to be.

In the end, the decision was made before I had even clocked onto the fact that they were voting about it, I was to return to the Legion and give them the news and everything, while the others prepared the campers in the plaza at the base of the hill, near the big house. However, to stop me from being an absolute idiot again, and to give me some back up in case something went wrong, Steph and Grey were to come with me. Well, at least when I die, I will have my friends for company on the ferry ride. Still something had to be done before I went to meet my doom. As everyone was leaving to get everything ready, I pulled the sleepy head councillor aside for a short chat.

"Hey, Clovis, can I talk to you for a second?"

He followed me into one of the guest rooms in the big house that was guaranteed to be undisturbed for a while, (NO, I know what you are thinking and I already told you, he is my friend _only!) _ Not wanting to waste anytime now that we had a chance to talk in private, ( a rare opportunity in this place) I cut straight to the chase.

"What is your problem? If you don't like me, then tell me, but don't just stare, I'm not some freak in a Circus side show that you can just gawp at!"

"Huh? What?"

I sighed, okay, maybe I had been a little to blunt, but being singled out as special irritated me, so you can imagine how I felt having him stare at me for over an hour, practically without blinking. Still, this kid was falling back to sleep even as he stood next to the window, so I would have to dumb it down a little, like I was talking to a little kid.

"In the meeting… Why were you staring at me?"

"Because your strange!"

Well, that was helpful, and mean, I didn't realise that they even had the wit to insult people when they were dozing half of the time, but the fact that I hadn't been expecting it made it sting a lot more than it should have. It wasn't like I had never been called this before by the mortals, it was the title of my life story at one point, but amongst demigods, this was a much worse insult. However, seemingly oblivious to my feelings, he continued.

"Your aura doesn't seem right. I can see them you know. Most people's is one set colour, but yours keeps changing. It's strange."

Okay, that didn't make much more sense, but at least it made me feel a little better, he wasn't insulting me, just my… Aura?

"What do you mean it keeps changing?"

A puzzled look crossed his face as he tried to find the right words for what he wanted to say. But eventually he seemed to give up and went to grab my arm, the way he does when he wants to show someone something in a vision which is like a dream, but much easily remembered, but as soon as his hand came into contact with my bare skin, he crumpled to the floor asleep again… Chuffing Brilliant!

Before I could slap him awake again and push him for answers, I heard noise in the hallway and Chiron entered, his face drawn slightly as though he was in pain, but then, this guy lives for training heroes and this was going to put us all at risk, so I guess he kind of was. Out of the blue, he suddenly spoke, staring straight into my eyes as though he wasn't really talking to me at all.

"Do you remember?"

His comment confused me, but, as his words registered in my mind, I felt a shooting pain and the room went dark once again.

_Again my blurry eyes opened to a scene that was both familiar and completely alien. I was standing in a room a dark marble that was cool beneath my bare feet. The smell of Citrus hung heavily in the air and my body relaxed as I took a deep breath. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that this was natural. This was safe, This was home! A noise behind me drew my attention to a figure on a raised dais, shrouded in shadows._

"_So you are sure you want to go through with this my child? The way will not be easy!"_

_I heard myself laugh and the voice that was mine yet not spoke again._

"_I swore to take on this role, I cannot decline it just because I have to face difficulty. Nor may you show such favouritism, both our hands are tied. Still, it is not as though my life has been stained with naught but happy times. This is my choice, and I will not back down!"_

_Even though I was only barely aware of my surrounding, the room going black again as I finished it was still shocking to hear the determination in my voice before m dream self was filled with pain._

I woke up to see my mentor's concerned face gazing down at me, but the blinding pain in my head made the room swim before my eyes. My thoughts were thick and sluggish meaning that the only thing I was able to say when I finally remembered how to speak, was the ever so intelligent.

"Huh?"

Thankfully, Chiron is a strong man/mythical being so he didn't laugh, only going to reassure me that it was only an after effect of Apollo's healing magic. But, when I was beginning to feel a slight bit better, he had to drop the bomb shell.

"I'm sure you will be fine, any way, it is time to go!"

Damn, stumbling slightly as I regained my footing I let Chiron support me towards the door where my two best friends stood waiting, a look of grim determination on both of their faces. I sighed and straightened so that I was supporting all of my own weight before I lay a hand on the door handle and looking back at them and attempting to smile.

"Well, lets get this show on the road!"

And then we headed out on the first steps of our journey to go and meet our death. Fun!


	8. We pop the question

They say that the hardest journeys of your life all begin wit a single step out of the door, but that it is always this one movement that is the hardest and that afterwards, it gets a lot easier, but, truth be told, I personally want to find whoever first said that and punch them in the face for their lies! With every step I took up that grassy hill, I felt worse and worse. Not only did my body still ache from all the battering it had so recently received, but from the knowledge that, very soon, I would be putting not only mine, my friends' lives at risk as well by bringing them into contact with a hostile roman army. Just to give myself something to do more than anything else, I clutched the olive branch closer to my chest and began to think of what to say when the time came. Far too soon, we reached the crest of the hill, and it was our time to shine. Mustering up all my courage, I shouted into their ranks, my words making our presence known as well as performing what I wanted them to;

"Hey, Octavia, we need to talk to you a moment, could you come here please?"

For a minute there was silence where I shifted uneasily from foot to foot, shooting glances back to my friends behind me, trying to reassure them that everything was okay when, inside, I just felt like screaming. Our plan all depended on the Romans acting as we had predicted, there was just so much that could go wrong in this situation. What if Octavia refused to meet with us? What if they wouldn't listen to us? What if the army attacked? As of a few minutes ago, the barrier had been completely dismantled as an act of faith, but it didn't half make me feel exposed and restless, I had no control over what was about to happen and I hated the feeling so similar to a branch being swept along by the current of a stream, so much so that I could no longer remain still. Instead, I began pacing the hill side, swinging the branch back and forth as I did. Of course, this meant that I didn't notice the new arrivals until they spoke.

"So you have the cheek to call us out and yet you keep us waiting for you to finish thinking. What is this all about girl, tell us quickly before we decide that it would be more useful to attack!"

The harsh words made me jump and I turned on the spot to see that Octavian had returned, and this time, he brought with him the girl I had seen on the Pegasus earlier. Well, at least I think it is the same girl, it is hard to tell from a distance, but the way the soldiers were acting around her made it seem pretty clear of her standing with them, she was even more respected than the teddy bear champion. She must have been the one in charge all along then. Swiftly making up my mind, I turned and bowed to the girl before I spoke, cutting off what ever retort Steph was about to let loose.

"Greetings, we come under the olive branch of peace and wish you no harm. My name is Loki Williams, daughter of Hecate and spokes person for camp half-blood. These are children of Apollo and Athena, Stephanie Palmer and Grey Mason. We really need to talk to your leader on a matter of great importance!"

Behind my back and in front of me, I'm pretty sure that a heard the sound of peoples' jaws dropping and, when I straightened up, I saw that Octavian was giving me a look that suggested my sanity. Maybe he just didn't think that I could be polite to anyone, I know that was the problem with my friends, but hey, I could be a nice person if I was given the chance, and if I liked the person I was addressing. Okay, I will give you that, that is a big if, but still, I can be polite when I have to be. When I glanced back at the girl, I thought that she was smiling at first, but then I got a proper look at her face and decided that exhausted would be a better word for it, the dark rings around her eyes looked like a permanent addition to her face and her stance looked like that of one who desperately needed a good night's sleep. Still, it was with a clear and confident voice that she responded.

"That would be us, now, tell us quickly what it is you want for we do not have time to play games with you, we have had scouts return with urgent news that we must hear!"

They had urgent news brought in from behind? Well, I could tell them exactly what it was they were out to hear right here and now, I mean, it wasn't as though we were coming up her to surrender or anything like that. I couldn't help it, I ended up laughing, then using the branch in my hands as a crutch to support myself as I prepared to tell them the good news and the bad news, well, mostly bad news… and only good news if they chose to accept our offer. Man I was way too tired for this!

"No need for that, I can tell you exactly what they would say as two of our own have returned with the same message. That is why we have come up here under the banner of truce and requested an audience with you."

I sighed at the end of the sentence, but I knew that we had their full attention, despite the fact that they seemed more than a little annoyed that Chloe and Drake had managed to slip past their entire Legion unnoticed. Not having the heart to tell them myself, and thinking that they would be more inclined to listen to our proposal if it came from someone else, I waved Steph on. After all, her dad was one of the few gods who didn't flicker between forms when it came to Rome and Greece, maybe she would be able to find some common ground with him, especially seeing as though I seem to remember the guy saying he was related to the sun god in some way or the other.

"Well, the thing is, a pair of our kids were attacked, and when they stuck around to find out the cause, they found a fully stocked army of monsters, backed by a giant. Our Oracle has seen the attack as well, they aim to take us out while we are fighting and beyond the help of our parents. That is why we are here now. Apparently, their numbers are such that we cannot, neither you nor us, take them on alone so we offer you this: Join forces with us against the army and we can shelter you within our boundary lines and offer our medical support as well as training/ sleeping facilities and food supplies."

She finished and I saw a light flicker in the girl's eyes, like she had been cornered like a rat and now we had shown her a way out, but she must have a strong mind because, as soon as the emotion appeared on her face, it vanished just as quickly and she turned to Octavian.

"Have all the active senate members meet me in my tent in 10 minutes, bring the scouts as well, for we have much to discuss!"

She said this with an aura of command which meant that, even though he was not happy about being bossed around (you could tell as much from his face) the blond boy ran back down the hill without another word. Once he was gone, she turned back to us, a much more relaxed expression holding residence on her face.

"We thank you for this offer and, speaking personally, I would like to accept here and now, but Rome has always been a city of democracy, we must decide what to do as a unit, though in all honesty, it would be much better to fight along side you than against you. But the decision must be made by the senate and that is where I must go. We will return in around an hour to tell you our decision, as to waste any more time would be folly."

And with that, she was gone, leaving the 3 of us alone on the top of the hill with and olive branch, a dragon and a huge unanswered question. Even as we began to descend the grassy slopes towards the waiting people, all I could really think up, once again, was,

What in Hades' name just happened?


End file.
